SHOCKER: Los Angeles Lakers Sell for $12.5B—Bob Iger and Josh Kushner SEIZE Control
August 13, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readLakers Sold for $12.5 Billion in Stunning Flip, Westbrook Retires, NBA Cup Groups Set
The Los Angeles Lakers have been sold again—this time for $12.5 billion—just over a year after Mark Walter bought the franchise from the Buss family. Bob Iger, former CEO of Disney, and Josh Kushner are the new owners, in what hosts Tony East and Ryan Blackburn call the most shocking team sale they can remember covering. The deal came together in roughly a week, with discussions reportedly starting on a Sunday and breaking publicly by Friday. Walter, who also owns the Dodgers and Sparks, is selling his stake amid an FBI investigation that included a seizure of his electronics last month. The hosts are blunt: the entire sequence fails the smell test, even if the individual pieces make sense.
The Mechanics of a Shocking Flip
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What you'll learn
- 1 Locked On NBA Game Night - August 13, 2026
- 2 Timestamped Outline
- 3 (00:00) **Show Open & Host Introductions** - Tony East and Ryan Blackburn preview the episode's topics: NBA Cup groups, Russell Westbrook's retirement, and the shocking Lakers sale
- 4 (02:16) **Lakers Sold to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5 Billion** - Mark Walter sells the Lakers after owning them for just one year, with the sale coming together in roughly a week
- 5 (03:54) **Why the Sale Makes (and Doesn't Make) Sense** - The hosts walk through the reported motivations for both buyers and seller
- 6 (06:04) **NBA Ownership Stability Concerns** - The hosts question whether one-year ownership flips undermine the league's stewardship of premier franchises
- 7 (08:35) **What This Means for the Lakers' Future** - The sudden ownership change upends expectations for the Lakers' new era
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Los Angeles Lakers rocked by another ownership shakeup as Bob Iger and Josh Kushner acquire the team from Mark Walter—just one year after his record-breaking purchase. With the NBA’s most storied franchise undergoing turmoil, questions swirl about the league’s vetting process, the future of the Lakers’ brand, and how Disney’s CEO and Kushner’s influence might reshape the NBA landscape. Can the Lakers find stability amid these stunning changes, especially with marquee stars like LeBron James and Luka Dončić gone?
Ryan Blackburn and Tony East break down the ripple effects around the league, including Russell Westbrook’s surprise retirement and the enduring impact of his triple-double prowess on NBA history. The duo preview the revamped NBA Cup schedule, spotlighting brutal group draws for contenders like the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers, and explore how new cup venues could shift the postseason narrative. Will this season’s format changes ignite fresh rivalries and elevate the chase for NBA glory?
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